Burnishing-machine.



0. PHASE. BURNISHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8, 1906.

.LPatented Nov. 1, 1910 MTNESS'ES.

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-UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES PEASE, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, .ASSIGNOR TO UNITED-XPEDITE FIN- ISHING COMPANY, OF BERWICK, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

BURNISHING-MACHINE.

Application filed March 8,

Toall whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES PEASE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salem, in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Burnishing-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for finishing boots and shoes, and more particularly to machines for finishing the edges of the heels of shoes.

The invention is herein shown as embodied in a machine fitted particularly for finishing spring heel shoes and other shoes having low heels and will be explained in connection with the finishing operation performed upon such shoes although the invention is not limited in any respect to machines intended for finishing spring heel shoes.

In burnishing heels it is desirable to use in connection with the burnishing tool an edge rest upon which the heel is supported and guided as it is pressed against the burnishing tool and turned to be rubbed from one breast corner about the rounded end to the other breast corner of the heel. The edge rest is of particular importance in the operation of burnishing spring heels because spring heels are not usually scoured to smooth and harden their edges before the heels are burnished and therefore such heels require to be pressed against the burnishing tool with great force to produce the desired hardened and burnished surface. For this reason it is customary for the operator to wedge or crowd the heel between the edge rest and the burnishing tool and turn the shoe with the rest as a fulcrum to present the different parts of the heel edge to the burnishing tool. The thickness of a spring heel or other very low heel is so small that the edge rest has to be located near the plane of that side of the burnishing tool which is near the upper end. of the heel. It is found however, that an edge rest located in this position is engaged by the sole at the shank of the shoe when the shoe is presented in position for burnishing the heel adjacent to one scarf or corner of the heel. The rest therefore seriously interferes with the proper pre- Specifieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

1906. Serial No. 304,949.

sentation of the shoe for this portion of the heel to be burnished. To overcome this difficulty is one of the objects of the present invention. To avoid marring the edge of the heel and permit the freest movement of the shoe, it is preferable to employ an edge rest which is mounted to turn as the shoe is moved over it. A feature of the present invention consists in the combination with a heel finishing tool of a rotatable edge rest movable into and out of position to support the shoe while the heel is being acted upon by the tool. As herein shown the edge rest is mounted on a shaft or spindle which is arranged for longitudinal sliding movement in a support. Preferably and as herein shown the rest is yieldingly pressed outwardly toward its normal position and adapted to be moved backwardly with its shaft by pressure of the bottom of the shoe against its outer end face. The spring automatically slides the shaft outwardly to put the rest into operative position when the shoe has been turned to permit the rest to pass the edge of the shoe bottom. To avoid marring the edge of the heel the roll is preferably covered with rubber or other yielding material and as herein shown the rubber covering extends over the outer face of the roll so that injury to the sole by contact with the rest is avoided.

It is the practice in many shoe factories to finish the tread face of the heels and es-? pecially the tread faces of spring heel shoes before finishing the edges of the heels. It is found in practice that when the tread face of a heel has been finished before the edge, the finishing material at the edge of the tread face is frequently cracked by the pressure applied to the edge face of the heel in burnishing that face. This difiiculty is especially likely to occur in spring heel shoes because as before stated the heel is not usually scoured previous to burnishing it and so is pressed against the burnishing iron with great force, and also because the leather of the tread of these shoes is frequently not as hard as the leather commonly used for the top lifts of high heels. To avoid cracking the finishing material on the bottom of the heel and to secure other advantages which will appear, a further feature of the invention consists in providing the burnishing tool with a member for acting on the tread face of the heel at the edge loo thereof. This member not only prevents the tread face of the heel being injured as described, but preferably cooperates with the edge burnishing elements of the tool to harden and burnish the heel at both sides of the corner or angle between the tread and edge face. As herein shown the burnishing tool comprises relatively movable yielding burnishing elements adapted to act on the edge of the heel and which are spaced apart a short distance, and the tread burnishing member for acting on the tread face of the heel adjacent to the edge is provided with portions extending inwardly between the burnishing elements to continue the acting face of said member to the edge of the heel in all positions which the yielding edge burnishing elements may occupy. The burnishing elements are herein shown as ex tending obliquely across the acting face of the tool and the said tread burnishing member comprises a sleeve for covering portions of the width of the burnishing tool and is arranged for movement spirally about the axis of rotation of the burnishing tool to maintain its inwardly ext-ending portions, before mentioned, in operative relation to the burnishing elements while uncovering more or less of the width of the tool. The tread burnishing member may be secured in adjusted position according to the approximate thickness of the heels to be finished, as shown in the main views of the drawing, or it may be positioned normally to uncover 'a minimum width and arranged to yield under pressure of the work against it to uncover a width of the burnishing tool equal to the thickness of the portion of heel being presented at a given time. This latter construction is also illustrated in the drawing and comprises a novel feature of this invention, consisting of a tread burnishing member movable spirally backward with relation to the edge burnishing tool to uncover the acting face of said tool. Preferably a spring is arranged to exert a torsional strain on the tread burnisher for moving it spirally in the direction to return it to normal position.

As before suggested the edge burnishing tool which is preferably employed comprises a plurality of yielding or relatively movable burnishing elements, and a further feature of this invention consists in the combination of a burnishing tool comprising a plurality of relatively movable burnishing elements with a beading tool for shaping or shaping and ornamenting the upper edge corner of the heel to form thereon what is termed the bead. It has not heretofore been deemed practical so far as I am advised to combine with a burnishing tool comprising yielding elements a beading tool by which a heel could be burnished and beaded at the same operation and, therefore, the beading tool has heretofore been mounted on a separate shaft from the yielding burnishing tool and its use has constituted a separate operation. By the use of a tool embodying this feature of the invention, the burnishing of a heel on ployed because the front port-ion of the'heel which is first presented to the finishing tool is usually thinner than the rear portion and when this is inserted between the beading tool and the tread burnishing member, the latter is automatically wedged backwardly as the shoe is turned to present the thicker portion of the heel to the tools, so that no special effort on the part of the workman is required for moving the tread burnisher to uncover the necessary width of the edge burnishing tool.

These and other features of the invent-ion including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be herein fully explained and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings which represent a preferred embodiment of my inventiom-Figure 1 is a perspective View of so much of a burnishing machine as it is necessary to illustrate for the purpose of explaining this invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation seen from the line 22 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the position of a shoe with relation to the burnishing tool and the edge rest when the shoe is presented for beginning the burnishing operation at one breast corner or scarf of a heel. Fig. 1 is an elevation of a modification of the burnishing tool, the parts being seen from the line 44 of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. '3, showing the position of a shoe with relation to the burnishing tool and the edge rest after the shoe has been turned far enough in the burnishing operation to permit the edge rest to resume its operative po sition.

The burnishing tool shaft 1 is driven from any suitable source of power and is provided with a pulley 2, which, through a belt 4, drives the beading tool shaft 5 of the machine. The burnishing tool comprises a hub 10 upon which are yieldingly mounted a series of burnishing elements 12. The burnishing elements are herein shown as mounted upon leaf springs 14, each of which is secured at its rear end to the hub and at its front end is attached to a rearwardly extending arm of the burnishing element. The burnishing element has also a forwardly exwardly by engagement with the sole and to be held in this backward position while the edge of the heel nearthe breast corner or scarf is being burnished and until, in the progress of the burnishing operation, the shoe has been turned far enough to allow the roll to be moved by the spring 46 into its normal position. After this has occurred the shoe may be crowded or wedged between the roll and the burnishing tool in presenting the shoe to the burnisher with the pressure necessary to obtain the proper burnishing of the heel. Preferably the roll is provided on its periphery and also on its outer end face with a cover 48 of rubber or other non-abrasive material, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, to avoid danger of the sole or heel being n'larred by their engagement with the roll.

Preferably the edge burnishing elements 12 and also the tread burnisher are heated for the purpose of facilitating the burnishing operation. As herein shown the tread burnisher 25 is provided with a chamber 37 (see Fig. 2) and with openings 38 extending obliquely from the rear face of said burnisher into the chamber. A gas burner 39 is arranged to provide the gas flame in position to be sucked through the openings 38 into the chamber 37 as the burnisher rotates. The oblique arrangement of the openings 38 causes them to draw 21 current of air into the chamber 37 and from thence outwardly among the burnishing elements 12, which evenly distributes and utilizes advantageously the heat from the gas flame.

In the use of the machine herein shown as embodying the invention the shoe to be finished is held in the hands of the operator and presented to the burnishing tool in approximately the position shown in Fig. 3 with its heel uppermost and the front corner or scarf 0f the heel in position to be first treated. In presenting the shoe in this position the edge rest is engaged by the sole of the shoe and pressed backwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2. As the burnishing of the heel progresses the shoe is turned by rolling it with relation to the edge rest and the burnishing tool and when it has been thus turned far enough to carry the sole out of the path of the edge rest the spring 46 will automatically force the rest into position to be engaged by the edge of the heel, and thereafter in the further presentation of the shoe to the burnisher the operator wedges or crowds the shoe between the edge rest and the burnisher. The work is pressed against the burnisher with considerable force in order to obtain the desired results and the edge burnishing elements 12 yield more or less under this pressure. The tread burnisher acts upon the tread face of the heel adjacent to its edge and not only prevents the finislr ing material on the tread face from cracking because of the pressure of the edge of the shoe against the edge burnishing elements, but also tends to perfect the burnishing of the part of the tread face engaged by it. The portions 26 of the tread burnisher extend far enough inwardly between the edge burnishing elements 12 to insure that the tread face of the heel immediately adjacent to its edge shall be acted upon in any position in which the shoe may be presented by reason of the depression of the yielding edge burnishing elements. If the burnishing tool is constructed to include a beader the shoe will be presented to the burnisher with the header in the rand crease and the head will be formed upon the heel at the same time that the heel is bein burnished. If the tread burnisher is yieli'lingly mounted, as it preferably will be when the burnishing tool is equipped with a beader, the tread burnisher will be spirally moved backwardly to uncover the required width of the edge burnisher by reason of the friction between said tread burnisher and the heel. This movement is effected without any special effort upon the part of the operator because of the fact that the tread burnisher is movable spirally backward in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the burnishing tool. If a header is not combined with the burnishing tool the shoe will be presented to the beading tool upon the shaft 5 immediately after the burnishing operation has been completed. In beading the heel upon this tool the shoe will be positioned with the header 50 in the rand crease and will be turned to present the different portions of the heel to the action of the tool. The milled roll will turn with the surface speed at which the work is moved and will produce a line of ornamentation in the desired relation to the bead formed on the heel.

The preferred construction of this beading tool is described and claimed in a divisional application Serial No. 335,443, filed September 20, 1906.

Having explained the nature of this invention and described a preferred construc tion embodying the same, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a series of yieldingly supported burnishing elements for acting on the edge of a heel, of a tread burnishing member constructed and arranged to cooperate with said yielding elements to burnish the immediately adjacent portions of the tread and the edge face of a. heel in any position of the yielding burnishing elements.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with relatively movable edge burnishing elements spaced apart, of a tread burnishing member having portions extendas shown in the drawings.

are of similar construction and the outer wall of the flange 20 insures that the burnishing elements will be positioned by the springs lt in a circular series. The recess in the flange permits the burnishing elements to yield independently under pressure of the work. The burnishing elements are shown as formed to present acting faces extending obliquely across the working face of the burnishing tool and are spaced apart The tool is provided, in addition to the burnishing elements 12 which are intended to act upon the edge of a heel, with a tread burnishing member 25 which is shown as comprising a sleeve mounted upon the outer casing of the hub 10, and a head the end face of which is engaged by the tread of the heel. This tread burnishing member is intended especially to act upon the portion of the tread face of the heel which is immediately adj acent to the edge of the heel, and in order to insure that the tread face is acted upon quite to its edge in all positions which the shoe may assume by reason of the depression of the yielding edge burnishing elements, the tread burnishing member is provided with inwardly projecting portions 26 which stand in the spaces between the edge burnishing members 12. The tread burnishing member is arranged for movement to cover more or less of the edge burnisher for the purpose of adapting the tool to act upon heels of different thickness and is herein shown as movable spirally about the aXis of rotation of the burnishing tool into positions for covering more or less of the edge burnisher. The tread burnishing member is guided in its spiral movement by a screw 28 standing in an oblique slot 29 in the sleeve of said member. The screw 28 may be set up to secure the tread burnisher in adjusted position, or, if desired, the screw may serve merely as a guide and the tread burnisher be normally pressed outwardly by a spring 30, shown in Fig. 4, to cover a maximum portion of the width of the edge burnisher. The spring is shown as arranged for exerting stress against the tread burnisher in a direction to press it outwardly and also to rotate it in the same direct-ion as the burnisher shaft rotates. The spring, therefore, tends to move the tread burnisher spirally about the aXis of rotation of the burnishing tool. One of the advantages of this coni struction is that the tread burnisher will position for the wider portion of the heel to be acted upon, thus relieving the operator from the necessity of exerting pressure directly against the tread burnisher for the purpose of forcing it into position to receive the wider portions of the heel. In the construction shown in Fig. i a beading tool 35 is combined with the edge burnisher. The beading tool comprises a header 50 for shaping and hardening the angular edge of bead at the upper end of the heel and a milled roll 52 for forming a line of indentations or other ornamental marks upon the edge of the heel adjacent to the head. This tool is shown as provided on its inner face with a recess 36 to receive the outer arms 16 of the edge burnishing elements, whereby the beader cooperates with the edge burnishing elements to limit their outward movement and insures their normal position in a circular series. When the header is used in combination with the yieldingly positioned tread burnisher as shown in Fig. 4 the operator may present the shoe to the tool by positioning the rand crease over the header at the scarf of the heel'and as the shoe is turned to present the thicker portions of the heel the tread burnisher will be automatically moved spirally backward by its frictional contact with the heel to allow the thicker port-ions of the heel to be received between it and the beader. I

The edge rest is shown as a roll 40 mounted to turn on a shaft or spindle 42, which is loosely mounted in a sleeve 44: carried by pressed outwardly with the roll in substantially the same plane the portion of the edge burnishing tool which acts upon the heel adjacent to its upper end, whereby the roll is adapted to support very thin heels while they are being presented to the burnisher. The location of the roll in this plane causes it to interfere with the presen-' tation of a shoe in position for burnishing the heel adjacent to the breast corner or scarf thereof, at which place the burnishing operation is usually begun. This is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, which show the posi tion of a shoe with relation to' the burnisher at the beginning of the operation. It will be observed that the normal position of the roll is substantially in the plane of the sole at the shank of the shoe. It is to obviate this interference of the roll with the proper presentation of the shoe that the roll and its shaft are made movable, this movement taking place as herein shown in a direction whereby the flame from the burner is drawn into the chamber and from thence caused to pass between the edge burnishing members to heat theburnisher.

14. In a machine of the class described, a

rotatable edge burnisher, a tread burnishing member rotatable with the edge burnisher and movable axially thereover, said tread burnishing member being provided With a 10 spiral groove, and a stud fixed with relation to the edge burnisher and standing in said ing inwardly between said relatively movable elements to burnish the tread face of the heel at its edge in any position of the movable edge burnishing elements.

3. In a machine of the class described, a burnishing tool comprising a series of relatively movable edge burnishing elements extending obliquely across the acting face of the tool, a tread burnishing member comprising a sleeve having portions extending between the edge burnishing elements and movable spirally to cover more or less of the width of the acting face of the tool.

4. In a machine of the class described, a burnishing -tool provided with an acting face for burnishing the edge of a heel, and a tread burnishing member rotatable there with and arranged to cover a portion of said acting face, combined with means for causing said tread burnishing member to move spirally for uncovering said acting face when the rotation of said member is retarded.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an edge burnisher presenting grooves extending obliquely across its acting face, of a tread burnishing member movably mounted to cover more or less of said acting face and having inwardly extending devices standing in said grooves whereby the tread burnishing member is caused to follow a spiral path in moving to cover and uncover the edge burnisher.

6. In a machine of the class described, arotary edge burnisher presenting grooves extending obliquely across its working face, a tread burnishing member having portions extending into said grooves, and means for pressing said burnishing member spirally forward to cover a portion of the acting face of the edge burnisher.

7. In a machine of the class described, an edge burnisher presenting grooves extending obliquely across its working face, a beader arranged to enter the rand crease of the shoe being burnished, a tread burnishing member movable toward and from the beader and having portions extending into said grooves, and a spring connected to said tread burnishing member to move it in the direction of said oblique grooves toward the beader.

ing elements are mounted, and a beader constructed and arranged to cooperate with said burnishing elements to determine the normal position of said elements.

10. In a machine of the class described, a heel finishing tool comprising a plurality of edge burnishing elements, yielding supports upon which the edge burnishing elements are mounted, arms extending fromsaid edge burnishing elements, and a beader provided in-its face adjacent to said edge burnishing elements with a recess to receive said arms and determine the normal position in which said burnishing elements will be held by their yielding supports.

11. In a machine of the class described the V combination with a rotary tool for burnishing the edge of the heel of a shoe, of an egde rest adjacent said tool and located normally in a position which it is desirable to have a portion of the shoe occupy during certain stages of the burnishing operation, but'in position to give support to the heel during other stages of the burnishing operation, a support on which said rest is arranged for movement in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of said tool and means for yieldingly holding the rest in its normal position, whereby said rest may be forced out of normal position when engaged by the tread face of the sole, but will be returned automatically to normal position upon the disengagementof the sole therewith.

12. In a machine of the class described the combination with a rotary tool for burnishing the edge of the heel of a shoe, of a roll located normally in the plane of the bur nishing face of said tool whereby it will support the edge of a heel being burnished, said roll having a covering of non-abrasive material, a spindle on which the roll is mounted, a sleeve in which said spindle is movable in a direction substantially parallel with the axis of said tool, a spring operating on said spindle to hold it yieldingly in its normal position, whereby said rest will yield when engaged bv the tread face of the sole to permit the shoe tobe positioned properly with relation to the burnishing iron but will be automatically returned to normal position upon the disengagement of the sole therewith, means for limiting the extent of the yielding motion of said spindle and a bracket in which said sleeve is supported.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a rotary burnisher comprising a plurality of edge burnishing elements and a tread burnisher provided in the rear of its acting face with a chamber communicating with said edge burnishing elements, of a. gas burner, said tread burnisher having obliquely extending openings arranged to produce a current of air into said chamber when the burnisher is rotated, 

